In Judaism, a person who is shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos (plural shomré Shabbat or shomrei Shabbos; Hebrew: שומר שבת, "Sabbath observer", sometimes more specifically, "Saturday Sabbath observer") is a person who observes the mitzvot (commandments) associated with Judaism's Shabbat, or Sabbath, which begins at dusk on Friday and ends after sunset on Saturday.
Under Jewish law (halakhah), the person who is shomer Shabbat is expected to conform to the prohibitions against certain forms of melacha—creative acts. The observant Jew does not cook, spend money, write, operate electrical devices, or carry out other activities prohibited on Shabbat. In addition, a variety of positive Sabbath commandments are expected to be fulfilled, such as Sabbath meals, rituals, prayers, kindness, benignity, rest and—for married couples—sexual intercourse on Friday night.[1]
In contemporary Orthodox Judaism, the shomer Shabbat person would typically strive to follow all the rules associated with the Sabbath. Within the "liberal" movements of Judaism, the phrase may signify a person who takes seriously the observance of the "core" mitzvot.
The shomer Shabbat is an archetype mentioned in Jewish songs (e.g., Baruch El Elyon) and the intended audience for various treatises on Jewish law and practice for the Sabbath day (e.g., Shmirat Shabbat ke-Hilkhata). In 2000, the media took note that the candidate for U.S. Vice President, U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, was shomer Shabbat.[2]
- ^ Rabbi Hyim Shafer (2008). The Everything Jewish Wedding Book: Mazel tov!. ISBN 978-1440501661.
.. each Friday night is also a special mitzvah for wife and husband to ...
- ^ Judith Shulevitz. "Former Toronto rabbi says Lieberman has found a way to observe the laws of Orthodox Judaism throughout his entire political career." Toronto Star. August 12, 2000